I wish to voice my strong…

I wish to voice my strong opposition to the proposed amendment to the Greenbelt Plan.

The government’s own Housing Affordability Task Force stated in a 2022 report that “Land is available, both inside the existing build-up areas and on undeveloped land outside greenbelts”. It also stated that “a shortage of land isn’t the cause of the problem” and that “we need to make better use of land.” We should not be opening the Greenbelt to development when there is plenty of more suitable land in Ontario.

We need more affordable housing, yes. But we need densification, not more urban sprawl. With an estimated 40,000 hectares of land set aside for development, and as yet undeveloped, there are many more appropriate places to build homes.

The Greenbelt has a value that is greater than a surface for building houses on. It provides jobs (177,700 to be exact), and reports an economic contribution of $9.6 billion per year. It gives people access to local, healthy food, the opportunity for exercise, recreation and a chance to connect with nature.

It also includes pristine stretches of land. Land that improves our air and water. Land that interconnected lifeforms already call home. Habitats need to be connected- for migration, and at a more basic level, for survival. To lifeforms such as insects, fish and birds, land cannot be parceled up and swapped.

No assessment has been made available of the environmental impact that breaking up the Greenbelt would have, but it’s safe to assume that animal, insect, amphibian and aquatic populations would suffer and diminish.

It erodes public trust to backtrack on statements made only last year about protecting the Greenbelt. And as the climate crisis looms ever larger, we need to preserve our green spaces and make efficient use of the land already available outside of those protected spaces.